Living Better With Less: Buying What Lasts

(photo courtesy of NY Magazine.com)

Wanted to share a snidbit from NY Magazine's interview with Julie Gilhart, former women's fashion director at Barney's. I totally agree with her answer to the following question:

You're a big champion of eco-conscious fashion, but it can be really difficult to convince people to buy something eco-friendly when their top priority is looking good. How do you reconcile that?

Well, it's really about making conscious decisions that aren't wasteful. Like with Lanvin, one of my favorites, there's nothing organic about it. But Alber [Elbaz]'s clothes tend to be very well made, and they never go out of style. So in Lanvin's case, you're buying a jacket that you can wear for years. I have a jacket that I bought that's from 2001, and I'm still wearing it. It's very difficult to buy 100 percent organic or sustainable, but the number one conscious decision is to not buy more than you need, and to buy things that last. If I had a choice to buy a T-shirt that's made in New York City versus a T-shirt that's made in China, and they're very similar, I'm probably going to choose the one that's made in New York, you know? And if I choose the one that's made in China — and that would be because it has a certain look, or a certain fit, or a certain price that's appealing — then I'm going to buy it and keep it and wear it for a long time. It's just about not being wasteful.

Read the entire article here.

Reader's Questions: Too Many Papers!

(click for larger view)

Angie asks: "My biggest problem is paper! Articles, notebooks from university years, bank paperwork, deposit slips, statements, old magazines... Sitting yesterday reading the stuff and thinking 'I may need this', realizing that I am not decluttering anything. I tried to detach myself from all this paper, it's stuff after all. Your advice is very much appreciated, thank you Laura!"

PLAN

Think if there's anything you're ok to get rid of right away. Since you have a hard time letting go, start with the least emotional decision; bank paperwork, deposit slips etc. (see below). The feeling of having to get rid of things sometimes make people hold on more, so tell yourself it's ok to keep some things.

QUICK EDIT + SORT

Create labels using post-it notes, index cards or even painters tape on the floor or along a wall for categories you know you have: recycle, shred, tax papers, legal documents, college, memorabilia, article to read, etc, Grab a pile and start sorting things into their respective categories. The idea is to get papers sorted quickly and get the papers you know you're not keeping out of the way. This is not the time to read and think; just sort into manageable piles.

If you have a room or area in your home where you can leave everything half-sorted end of the day that would be great (most people cannot get this done in one sitting). If not, use labeled shopping bags, folders or boxes to keep piles together until you're ready to get back to it.

DEEP EDIT

Once the papers are sorted, do a more thorough edit one category at a time, starting with the smallest pile and/or the easiest to go thru. Deep reading at this point will get nothing done. Skim the page to see if the article, notebook, etc has any relevance at this point in your life:

Articles

There's an infinite amount of information out there. Chances are the articles you've been saving for years are outdated or maybe the reason you haven't read them is that you actually don't need to. Magazines run the basic same articles over and over again so chances are there's nothing amazing you've been keeping that hasn't been or will be repeated again.

Statements/Bills/Tax Papers

If you write it off on your taxes, keep them. Ask your CPA (or who over does your taxes) for a list of what you need to keep. See above image for more details. If you're not writing them off, there's really no reason to keep them.

If you need them, the question is have you done your taxes? If you don't actually need them to file, sort them by year. Don't bother sorting them any further since odds are you'll probably not have to reference them again.

Other

Keep insurance policies, legal documents (as mentioned above). As far as your notebooks from college, be realistic. How long has it been since you've graduated and have you ever looked back at them? For some professions, it's fine to keep some things from college, but certainly not all.

DISCLAIMER: I am a residential organizer, not commercial, the following info is for individuals only, also I am not a qualified financial advisor, attorney or CPA. If you have any further questions about what you should keep consult your qualified financial advisor, attorney and/or CPA.